Free time and more walking

In January I started working very part time at Amelia's preschool. The girls love it and it gets us out of the house during that early evening witching hour that every parent dreads. With Margot on the cusp of her second birthday and her increasing anguish over Amelia going to school in the mornings without her, little M started her own school this week. Theoretically this would give me some free time (2 mornings a week) to take care of long neglected household duties (and regroup the scattered pieces of my sanity). However, during the first two days of Margot daycare this week I was able to fill in as a substitute at Amelia's school.
As an aside, 3-6 year olds are probably the coolest little humans on the planet.
So here is the cool part. Amelia's preschool is 2.5 blocks from our house. Margot's day care is 2.5 blocks away from Amelia's school. Matt's work is 2 blocks away from Margot's day care. We aren't relishing this situation as much as we should be due to frigid, frigid temperatures, but come spring the bike trailer is coming out!
On our walk to the the preschool yesterday afternoon I met two young police officers that are starting a new beat downtown, including my block. They had a tour of Amelia's preschool and took information for their own families. It was great to see officers on their feet in the city, rather than racing by in cars. I understand that they may be using bicycles as the weather warms, as well.

Trees Vs. Treeless

I mentioned in the comment section of "We got a tree!" that the TreeVitalize grant was voted in during a re-vote at the last commissioners meeting. 7-2. YAY! I received emails from two of the nine commissioners, and felt good that my voice was heard. I know a lot of people stepped up that day and called and wrote and attended the meeting. I just wanted to post a couple of pics from opposite sides of the same street. Which side would you want to live on? One big, gorgeous tree was cut down recently on the now treeless side of the street, because it was messing up the sidewalk. Um, the sidewalks all over the city are a disaster, with or without tree roots contributing. The tree is gone but the sidewalk is still in shambles.

Holiday parties begin!

To be honest, I still feel a little dazed. Perhaps too dazed to write anything of substance. I felt the need to post a photo of my girls running wild in the streets for the Christmas tree lighting. It won't be surprising to anyone that knows them that they were decked out in their Halloween gear.

Despite the rain and chill, there was a decent crowd, a band playing carols, and a second rate Santa Claus. The good news is that he arrived on a fire truck. The bad news is he was a bit of a prick when insisting that Dancer was a boy, despite my leading question on behalf of my daughter. Throw us a bone, Santa! I went so far as to suggest to my girl that he wasn't the real Santa. We'll have brunch with him at the Brew Works this weekend. And also at Black Orchid (Southern style brilliance). Two brunches within walking distance, who can resist!?

The rest of the weekend featured 3 birthday parties and a gingerbread house assembly. We left our hopped up kids with a sitter and hit the holiday punch at the OAPA party at Peter's amazing living space. The energy was great, and we were able to meet some interesting new friends and neighbors (hopefully friends, that punch was strong and I was awfully affectionate). A sursprise snow shower saved me from the original plan of biking to the party. DH claims he's never seen me so happy to witness nasty weather.

We got a tree!

We just got a tree planted on the sidewalk in front of our house - and the difference is spectacular. Two weeks ago the girls and I watched a crew cut out the concrete and dig a hole, they were an adoring crowd.

Our neighbor was also slated to get a tree, but while the holes were dug two weeks ago, and said neighbors' tree was planted the following day, ours was only planted today. Well worth the wait. New trees popped up all over our neighborhood thanks to a grant applied for by our neighborhood association, OAPA.

That said, just this week Lehigh county commissioners rejected a grant that the city of Allentown had received as part of the TreeVitalize program. The sentiment amongst the commissioners appears to be that tree plantings are frivolous, and the money ($25K) should be spent for "1/2 a police officers salary" or something more important to the well being of the city (I should say county, as I have long felt the commissioners could give a rats ass about A-town). Before the commissioners send this 'message' to Harrisburg, I suggest they do a little research on urban forests.

A few benefits of urban forests:
*help ameliorate carbon emissions and greenhouse gases
*reduction of UV radiation
*temperature moderation
*increased air quality (this is a public health issue!)
*reduced storm water runoff
*decrease energy needs of neighboring buildings
*beauty

When those batteries are up and running, I'll post pics of the tree planting in addition to neighborhood photos - the differences between blocks with trees and without are astounding.

Oh, and just to get a mothering slant on this, when I asked my four year old what she thought about the tree she said "I feel proud. Isn't it beautiful?"
Yes. It is.

Oh, do we need an introduction?

CItymoms was born, in part, out of frustration. I live in a beleaguered city. People love to hate on Allentown. We are a classic urban locale with all of the associated problems (poverty, crime, crappy school district) and few of the benefits (we are struggling for some night life and diversified retail)

But I love it. I refuse to buy my way into a better school district. I don't want my kids thinking it is normal to have to drive everywhere. We don't have grass in our backyard but we do grow vegetables. We are a one car family. My oldest walks to school and my husband bikes to work. I know my neighbors. I know my mail carrier. I'm getting to know the police on this beat and local politicians.

I feel like we need to nurture urban centers throughout the country back into good health.

So here we are, and I hope to be joined by other city moms, from cities both struggling and thriving, to present the non-suburban side of child rearing.

Saturday in the city

These cold winter days admittedly feed some ambivalence about our commitment to city living; particularly car-free living. We had a wedding to attend, just 6 blocks away, and my husband insisted we ride our bicycles. This meant bare legs and high heels in sub-freezing temperatures. This meant *really* forcing the girls to wear their hats and jackets. We bundled a down blanket over them in the trailer, and entered the church just in time to see the gorgeous bride walking down the aisle. Not being church-goers ourselves, we were blown away by the interior of the building (St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran at 5th & Walnut, A-town, PA). I had to spirit my almost 2 year old to the back room for most of the service (with some hand-offs to husband) but both girls managed the ceremony. We had an hour to kill before the reception, so rode up 5th street to the Allentown Art Museum (yay for membership!) They have the most amazing children's area. I wandered off to see the Antonakos exhibit (I love the collages) while the girls worked on their own collages. The museum was warm and cozy and quiet. We curled up on a couch and read books about color and artists until the docent told us they were getting ready to close.

Back into the chill, I was at fault for mis-remembering the reception location. My bare shins were numb by the time we entered the Barristers Club, but the good news was that it was only 2 blocks away from our house. By the time we pedaled home I was warmed by a couple of sidecars and a glass of wine. We had the babysitter meet us at the reception (she came by car, we beat her home!) and walked over to our neighbors house for a birthday celebration. The cherry on top of a brilliant evening was that little M went to sleep for the babysitter - this is a first and a welcome surprise! So husband just pedaled out the door to meet a friend for drinks.....

Any indignation I felt about getting dolled up to ride out on a cold day/night was ameliorated once we got out on the streets. The girls in the trailer bring smiles to those out and about, and I can only hope we encourage people to consider other modes of transportation. I had to remember our own wedding night, when we were whisked away by a bicycle rickshaw on a warm South Carolina evening.